Rio Tinto Collaborates With Prysmian To Produce Low-Carbon Aluminum Cables

Rio Tinto and Prysmian have partnered on an industrial trial to produce low-carbon aluminium cables designed for the rapidly growing data centre market, combining leading-edge smelting and cable technologies to help customers reduce the carbon footprint of critical IT infrastructure.

The trial saw Rio Tinto manufacture aluminium rod using a blend of low-carbon aluminium from Rio Tinto's hydropowered Alma smelter in Quebec, Canada, and aluminium produced using the ELYSIS® technology. ELYSIS® eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium smelting process and produces oxygen instead, representing a major breakthrough in the decarbonisation of aluminium production.

Rio Tinto and Prysmian signed a five-year supply agreement in 2023. As part of the agreement, both companies have brought together their respective technologies and research and development capabilities to accelerate the introduction of lower-carbon aluminium solutions across a range of applications including energy transmission and data centres.